Tonya’s Case: Ethics and Professional Codes

By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assignment criteria:

Competency 2: Apply sound ethical thinking related to a health care issueDemonstrate sound ethical thinking in applying ethical principles and moral theories to a specific case
Competency 3: Analyze ethical issues associated with patient care from the perspectives of various health care professionalsExplain professional codes of ethics and apply them in to a specific case
Competency 4: Explain the conceptual framework that health care leaders use to make ethical decisionsExplain organizational documents like mission and value statements and use them to analyze a case study
Explain the role of accrediting bodies and applies this understanding in analyzing a case study
Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with health care professionals
Provides validation and support within written communications by including relevant examples and supporting evidence using APA citations
Produce writing with minimal errors in grammar, usage, spelling, and mechanics
For this assignment you will apply some skills concepts we’ve learned in the course, particularly those relating to the basic principles of health care ethics, professional codes of ethics and values of health care institutions

Consider the following case study scenario:

Case

Tonya Archer is a fifteen year-old patient admitted to the hospital early last week to have some fairly routine surgery performed Post-surgical complications resulted in cardiac arrest, and then loss of blood circulation caused whole brain death However, a ventilator and intubation are sustaining her body’s life functions, including all other vital organs The doctors have determined that the damage is permanent and that Tonya has no chance of regaining consciousness Therefore, they want to take her off life support However, Tonya’s parents are adamant she remain on life support They point out that her heart is beating, and they insist that their daughter is still very much alive

Write a paper that answers the following questions:

What are the most relevant end-of-life issues in health care ethics as they relate to this case?
What should the hospital do? Should doctors simply keep Tonya on life support, as the parents want? Or, since all medical evidence indicates that Tonya’s brain is permanent, should life support be removed?
Support your answer with the following considerations in mind:

Explain which principles of health care ethics and which moral theory are the best philosophical foundations for your view
Is your view supported by your professional code of ethics? If so, explain how If not, explain what your code gets wrong about a case like this
Is your view consistent with the mission statement and values of the hospital you discussed in Unit 1? Why or why not?
Would an accrediting body, like the Joint Commission, support your choice? Why or why not?
Submission Requirements

Your paper should meet the following requirements:

Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message
APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting guidelines
Length: 2-3 typed, double-spaced pages
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

 

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.